Chapter 2
The sun could be seen shining down on a quaint little town that would not be out of place in a painting. This little town was surrounded by a large grassy plain to its north. The grassy plain had a single solitary dirt path travelling from the outskirts of the town through the plain.
The plain could be seen giving way to a forest with medium sized trees that are spaced sporadically with bushes of varied size growing around them. Some of them looked large enough for you to hide a car behind while others could barely cover a single basketball.
To the south of the town is a large sandy beach and to the southwest was a harbour where small fishing boats and medium sized ships were docked. The southeast of the town was home to some clear and pristine water and a single stream could be seen running into the plains.
This small tributary would join with a larger brook further downstream before taking a sharp turn and flowing across the forest into the large mountain range to the west under whose shadow the whole town lived.
The town was full of small two story or three-story houses along with the occasional convenient stores and marts except for one building. This building unlike the other houses of Pallet Town which were quaint, within the medium to slightly large house range, was humongous. It had a red coloured wind turbine right beside it and was located on a small hill to the eastern end of the town.
The area behind this building was almost as vast as the plains to the outskirts of the town but it was much too different then the plains. For one was there were a vast number of different habitats that could be seen within the Coral as it was called.
There was a huge pond that had been apparently dug out connected to the stream mentioned before. There was a desert right in the northern edge of the Ranch while the beach was quite clear to the southern end. The eastern end was simply plain with a lot of grass while a veritable forest was spread to the north west. A cave system popped up by the stream where the plain ended while a small sized hill with a lot of jagged rocks all around it could be seen adjoining the desert and the forest. A large glacier of ice was also located within the sea with a connection to the Coral while a small mountain full of snow could be found not far from the beach.
The second thing different about the ranch then the plain was the presence of the vast array of different kinds and types of Pokémon. The plain was sparsely populated with mostly Rattata and some small bug types with the occasional Pidgey and other flying types.
In the coral though the number of different kinds of Pokémon was mind boggling. The caves were full of Sandshrew, Sandslash, Crobat and their evolutionary line, Digglett and Dugtrio and another cave Pokémon. A huge scar riddled Aggron, whose metal plating shined indicating it's excellent health and enormous strength, could be seen within the caves. He was clearly the leader among these caves.
A large herd of male and female Nidoran, Nidorino, Nidoran, Nidoking and Nidoqueen could be seen being led around by one very huge Nidoking. It was a beast among the whole herd almost twice as tall as the second tallest Nidoking in the herd. It's horn unlike the others was a long and jagged. Seems like it was broken at some point and had not grown back properly.
It was the same with Growlithe, Yamper and Lillipup puddle being led by what was a humungous Arcanine that would even put some rock and steel types to shame with his size.
The rocky hills seemed to house a multitude of Pokémon with a Kommo-o that was lounging at the top presiding over the hills and all the Pokémon calling it home which included a multitude of Dragon Pokémon and Rock Pokémon. A single Tyrantrum could be seen quiet clearly keeping to himself, away from the rest of the population.
The glacier was filled with a huge number of ice types, Lapras and Cetitan the endangered species among them. Among all those ice types a single Avalugg stood out. It radiated an aura of barely constrained power and insurmountable force.
A Scizor and a Breloom could also be seen sparing with each other close by to the forest. They were surrounded by a bunch of bugs and fighting types. Heracross, Krikitune and Yanma were among the bug types that could be seen while the fighting types were filled with Meinfoo, Tyrouges and Passimian. Both the sparring Pokémon were so fast and powerful that their blows were impossible to keep track off and were creating mini shockwaves on contact.
The marshy area located smack dab in the middle of the Coral was housing a bunch of Pokémon though the most prominent and honestly the strongest of them was what looked like the Hisuian form for the Pseudo Legendary of the Kalos region. Was it mentioned that it also had the alpha nature making it almost as big as the windmill beside the ranch.
The desert was the least populated of the whole Coral but a single Pokémon among them stood out like a scarecrow that was based after it. Cacturne had a menacing and fierce aura about him putting the fear of Arceus in the hearts of anyone who came across him.
There are a bunch of other Pokémon of a similar or higher power levels living in the mountain range or a small corner of the beach that was part of the coral. A single Dragonite could be seen flying between both these parts and the ranch carolling the whole place and keeping the peace.
A Charizard was generally called in to solve any disputes between the different fire type of the ranch.
He was almost always successful hashing out most of the problems that arises within the Ranch. At best he asked the help of the Alakazam and Clefable that helped the owner who this ranch was named after.
The owner, Mr. Samuel Raphael Oak, was a Pokémon researcher. He was not a researcher. He was the researcher. The current generation of trainers are said to be part of the Oak era since most of the changes we have seen in the world especially Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Galar were due to this man and his many friends and students.
He had served the Indigo region as its Champion for almost sixteen years, the longest anyone has been Champion in Indigo, before he retired to pursue his goal of becoming a full-time researcher. His invention the Pokedex revolutionized Pokémon training and his work in folded space technology, genetic engineering and his multiple studies on fairy, dragon and psychic types has only furthered the progress the world has made.
His most important contribution though had come from his research into human Pokémon relations and Pokémon-Pokémon relations when in the wild. He had from careful analysis and thorough research had set up rules in regards with Pokémon training, surviving in the wild and interaction with wild Pokémon that had formed the basics of the League Trainer Code that was a must and should to stick too if you wanted to keep your licence that you received on passing the Trainers Licence Test when you are fourteen, if your Pokémon or one of the wild ones didn't kill you.
The man had a hand in almost every small- and large-scale scientific research going on in the world from Fossil revival to the newest model of the Pokenav. The man was even part of the development of Commerce City and had a hand in the discovery of the Paradox Pokémon in the great crater of Paldea.
That great man who had quite literally dragged the world into the future with his own hands could be seen sleeping in his office surrounded by papers and dozens of take out containers from somewhere called Ketchum's Reserve and the TV playing a video about Pikachu and Ketchup.
He was snoring slightly and his Cleffable had no desire to wake up the man who in her opinion worked too hard. His Alakazam, who had no such difficulties, dumped a bucket of water on the man after moving all his papers to the side.
The next few seconds were very disorienting for the sixty-five-year-old man who was soaked to the bone, his teeth clattering and his hair stuck to his scalp.
"Thank you, Wizz for that wake up," said Professor Oak dryly.
"Kazam," nodded the Psi Pokémon. For someone with an IQ of almost close to 200 the Psychic had great difficulty picking up sarcasm. If Oak did not know better, he would think the Psi Pokémon was a great actor.
"And the reason for this wake-up call?" asked Professor Oak.
"Cleaff, Cleaff Cleaffable," said the fairy type making the man groan.
"Which one?" asked Oak all traces of sleep gone from his face. He was ready to rush out and hope none of the more enthusiastic Pokémon in the coral joined in the whole scale destruction Ash's Pokémon are going to cause.
"All of them. The brat is here and he is trying to burn the field again," said Alakazam.
That pulled the brakes for Professor Oak. He would have rushed outside and tried to contain the damage had it been Inferno or God forbid Tetrax but if Ash was around, he could go at a more sedate pace. Ash was a capable kid. He could keep them in line.
"Anyone watching over them," asked Oak as he took his time arranging some of the papers his Alakazam scattered.
"Cleffable," answered the fairy type miming a crocodile with his hands.
"At least there won't be a fire if Bruce is watching over them," said Professor Oak.
Bruce was a Feraligatr and one of his oldest Pokémon. He would be able to provide guidance should the need arise and keep the other Pokémon of the coral in line.
There was this Absol that made it onto a cargo ship from Hoenn. Maybe it was driven out of his hometown by the people. It was quite common for the species. She showed a lot of interest in battling and seemed to be quite fascinated by Ash and his training methods. Once Oak made sure there were no diseases that the Absol had brought from Hoenn he planned on letting Ash train the poor thing.
"I do not understand your leisure, Samuel. The last time they trained together we had to replant a quarter of the forest ecosystem," said Alakazam.
"Yes, and Ash has learned from his mistakes has he not. He has started setting up those shields and he did teach a bunch of his team water type moves. Not to mention Bruce is there," said Professor Oak as he grabbed a different t-shirt to wear. Uh, all his nice ones are used, so dull grey it is.
"Remind me to do laundry, Selene" said Oak to Cleffable who nodded in affirmation.
"Bruce has never been the most responsible of our comrades," said Alakazam.
"You don't give him enough credit, Wizz," said Professor Oak.
"Cleffable, Cleff, CLEFF," said Selene, gesturing wildly. All these years and sometimes even Samuel slipped up in trying to understand what his Pokémon wanted to tell him.
"What she said,"
"Ash will be fine, you have never liked that boy," said Oak not giving their worries any more thought. One Hydro pump from his Snorlax would wash out any fires and Seed Bomb has become a new favourite for the lumbering normal type.
It was one heck of a specimen and Oak had started some interesting studies on sleep patterns after being inspired by the beast.
"And as I keep telling you something is not right with that boy. He should not have such good shields at such a young age, especially without any training. Not to mention those eyes," said Wizz with a shudder.
"Again, with your crazy theories, you know who the boy's father is yet you make such ridiculous claims," said Oak with a shake of his head as he put on his signature lab coat.
"The Game Theory is a legitimate concern for us. Hundreds of Psychics and Porygon's have seen evidence of such," cried out the psychic type indignantly.
"CLEFFABLE," the fairy type harumphed loudly.
"Fine, no more negative energy," said Wizz folding his hands and grumbling under his breathe about eggs and hatchings.
"How is that egg Ash brought us. Is it showing any changes?" asked Oak.
Selene shook her head in a negative and Professor Oak blew out air as he walked down the staircase to the ground floor to head into the coral.
He opened the door at the back of the lab into the courtyard and almost had his head taken off by a Nightslash. It was only by the quick actions of Wizz that his head had been saved. The door not so much.
"Galahad, no dark type moves," screamed the voice of Ash Ketchum and as he came floating down in front of them his trusty Metagross right behind him with his eyes glowing.
"Hey Professor Oak, Good Morning," bowed the young trainer.
"Ash you are up early," commented Professor Oak while taking in what his Pokémon were doing. Oak had seen a lot of trainers over the years. He liked to divide these Trainers into categories.
The first ones were the statistics. These were all those kids with big dreams but had no drive. They were all those kids who managed to get three gym badges before losing the handicap and being destroyed by either Surge or Koga. They were the kids who would get lost in the statistics that were read at the end of each League Season.
The second were the brats. They had rich parents. That was all there was to them. Sure, some of them could be talented like Palmer's kid or Steven Stone, but most of them were brats that went to Training Schools and thought they were all that until reality kicked them hard.
The third were the realists. They journeyed for a few years joined a few leagues, realized they did not have enough talent and drive to really succeed. They found their passion during their journey, came home, and followed that passion.
The mediocre. These were those trainers that delusional enough to believe they were just that small push away from becoming the next big thing and they just had to keep their chin up and keep trying. They never really get out of it and end up in junior circuits, little leagues, club events or other such stuff.
The next ones were the talented ones. These were the trainers that took up the roles of Gym Trainers, Ace Trainers, Elite Trainers, or the travelling experts. They reached a higher echelon then most people but could not seem to push into the highest echelons.
The prodigies. They were your gym leaders, Elite Four Members, Champions, Frontier Brains. They were the trainers who were at the peak of the pyramid that was the Pokémon League.
Ash was a prodigy who put prodigies to shame. What would take prodigies three years to learn and the talented one five, Ash had discovered in three to five months.
Most of your first year was spent with being wide eyed young children just discovering the world of Pokémon. You did not think about most other stuff then travelling and teaching your Pokémon powerful moves. Though he did hear the new champion of Sinnoh, the scion of the Shirona clan had placed the highest a rookie had ever placed by reaching the quarter finals.
At fifteen she was named the youngest champion ever and she had worked tirelessly with the Champion of Kalos and Charles Goodshow to integrate Sinnoh into the League. Her two years of tireless work came to fruition when the St. Anne cruise left Sunny Shore city for Vermillion City.
Anyway, you did not worry about resistance training, widening your move pool, general fitness, terrain, and other such things until atleast you have completed three leagues. Ash had gained four gym badges when he called to ask Oak about resistance training and how safe it was to do so.
He could see clearly Ash had divided his Pokémon into groups. The beast of a Gyarados was absent but the rest of them were quiet eagerly working on things.
Galahad was coaching a troupe containing Spook, Thor, Reaper and Princess through some moves that had more to do with the more arcane types.
Millenium, Inferno and Aerosmith a were working on aerial mobility and dodging with Delia's Delphox Witch attacking them. Did he mention the fire starter was floating in air and moving around to attack them from different angles.
Skynet was undergoing stamina training along with working on his psychic powers.
Gaea, Tetrax, Spark and Sleepy were working on resistance training with Bruce attacking them at random points while they continued to navigate the rocky terrain that Gaea had put up. Bruce was holding Grace in his arms who was chirping happily at his old friend who seemed to adore the poor thing.
"Yeah, Princess was getting restless and I had to get Spark away from home before he and Cleo dirtied the garden again," said Ash with a fond look towards the Eevee.
"How long has that been going?" asked Oak wondering about Delia's Persian and Ash's Luxray.
"I am not sure. I mean Spark came home once during the whole time I have been back, I am not sure when this developed," said Ash scratching behind his head.
A loud roar broke through the general hum of the training and Oak followed the sound to the huge Tyranitar that was being pushed back by his Bruce using Water Gun. Well, calling it a Water Gun would be a stretch because it looked more like a low powered Hydro Pump. Which meant Gaea could take anything the Indigo league could throw at her.
Bruce stopped his attack and growled a congratulations at Gaea who nodded before moving to side and drying herself with Flamethrower.
As far as he understood from Ash's plans when he was training, he came to the coral by six before which all his Pokémon would be warmed up and limber enough to train. The next hour was spent to improve their bodies, strengthen muscles, increase endurance and stamina and such.
The next two hours was followed by whatever was on the itinerary that day. From games of tag to things like this, he tried his best to keep the Pokémon engaged without making things monotonous.
They took the rest of the time off until evening when they had mock battles on the four battlefields Oak had behind the lab.
"How long have they been taking hits?" asked Oak as he saw Tetrax shrugging off Ice Beams.
"Almost one hours, they will switch after that. We will be done in another hour, you can watch if you want Professor," said Ash before looking back at things.
"Aerosmith, don't flap your wings too much, follow Inferno if you have to. Millenium is a bird not a dragon," hollered the fifteen-year-old and the Aerodactyl followed his advice.
Given the odd fact that almost every fossil other then Volcarona that had been ever revived tended to be rock types, there was a famous theory going around the research circles that the fossilisation process was the reason these Pokémon developed the rock typing.
Blaine kept his secrets closely guarded to his chest in regards to how he revived the Volcarona much like Devon Corp did in regards to their fossil revival methods.
Looking at the Aerodactly flying beside the Charizard dodging flame throwers and other such Samuel Oak believed this theory had merit. For one Ash had told him he had found the prehistoric Pokemon in Grandapa Canyon in one of the underground caves.
He had smoothed a lot of feathers when Ash came across this variant and was waiting for approval to lead a team through those underground systems to find more evidence in regards to Ash's findings.
Also, the fact that his skin was brown not grey, was made of scales had membranous wings and a snout made for eating fish Pokémon rather than crushing rocks was another glaring indicator.
Oak had concluded that the Aerodactyl Ash had captured was a dragon/flying type much like Dragonite and seemed to share some similarities with the pseudo legendary of Hoenn Salamance.
Aerosmith seemed to still be choppy in the air. He was fast and very good at normal flying and dodging attacks from the ground seemed to be no trouble but when the whole air was the battlefield he struggled. He was the top predator during ancient times but now not so much.
Comparatively Inferno was doing quite well dodging most of the blows but Millenium was the Queen of the Sky. She was massive standing at six and a half feet tall when compared to the average Pidgeot who were five feet tall at best.
Oak had seen his fair share of Pidgeots. He had seen well trained ones, he had seen Pidgeot's with King's Nature and he had even seen a Mega Pidgeot but Millenium was something else. Pidgeot's were not known for their raw strength. Speed, sure they were one of the fastest flying types around. Older Pidgeot's that had lived for a few years could gather enough power for a decent Hyper Beam.
Millenium was different. He had power in spaded. Enough to put up one heck of a fight against powerhouses like Charizard and Aerodactly. It behaved more like a Mega Pidgeot then a normal one. Oak really wanted one of it's feathers to study it's DNA but the bird was proud and vain. She would cut him into ribbons with her air slash if he tried to pluck one. He wanted to ask Ash but he was always distracted by Ash's questions and doubts when they were talking.
"Come on Inferno, you can do better than that," screamed Ash and his starter growled in acceptance. He started flying more vigorously with Aerosmith doing his best to keep up.
"LUXRAY," screamed the Electric Type as it stood and took the Hydro Pump. It didn't have enough bulk to be able to withstand the High-Pressured flow and was being pushed back.
"Spark stabilize yourself with Iron Tail and Nightslash," hollered the trainer and the electric type growled in confirmation before digging his tail and claws into the ground to stop it's sliding. He roared in excitement before pushing back against the water move.
"Great Job Thor, that Focus Blast is looking good," said Ash and Oak turned his eyes to this batch.
Each of them was working on a different move with Reaper working on refining Nightslash, Thor working on Focus Blast and Spook working on Dazzling Gleam. Thor seemed to have the most success of all of them all.
Thor's Focus Blast while they took time to form and tended to detonate just before reaching the target was the best effort of all of them. Reaper was leaking the Void energy all over the place forcing Galahad to maintain distance and scream out the instructions. Spook was just starting to harvest the fairy type energy and he had a long journey ahead of him if he wanted to learn Dazzling Gleam without a TM.
Galahad said something to his right oh, Oak had missed the little Eevee in all the chaos of the rest of them.
Princess accepted whatever it was that Galahad and used Hyper Voice. No wait that was not hyper voice. At least not completely.
That looked more like Disarming voice then Hyper Voice.
Oak watched Princess transform the Hyper Voice into Disarming Voice at a rapid pace with a few instructions from Galahad. Ash was screaming out instructions for Thor telling him to make the Blast smaller to better control it and to learn to condense it better.
At the perfection of the move, Princess growled in happiness and ran in a circle before trying the move a few more times. She yipped in happiness before turning to Ash who was speaking to Skynet about something called a Lock Box.
"EEVEE, VEE, EEVEE, EIOU," screeched the normal type as it came running towards Ash and he turned to it immediately with a smile it tackled the boy to the floor and started licking his face with happiness making the boy chuckle.
"Okay, Okay…," whatever he was saying was stopped as his Eevee started glowing and Oak knew immediately something was going to be different.
All his Pokémon also stopped their training to stare at Princess as she evolved.
The first thing that happened was that the Eevee grew much larger. Once that was completed his tail reduced in size loosing much of it's fluff. The fluff at it's neck also vanished to be replaced by a – bow tie. Another bow tie formed at the base of it's left ear. Ribbon like structures arose from the bows and Princess stopped evolving.
Samuel Oak had been in the research field for a long time yet only in the last six months he had seen four new evolutions counting this one (well Gengar, Politoad and Slowking were not new evolutions but you get the meaning).
"Congratulations Professor, looks you will be the first one to document a new Eevee evolution, won't he Princess," said Ash with a grin scratching her behind her ear and making her purr and melt into him.
The ribbon like feelers of the pink and white Eevee evolution wrapped around the young man as he continued scratching it behind the ear. All his other Pokémon cheered for their team mate.
LINE BREAK
"So do you have a name for this evolution," asked Professor Oak as I sat in the main hall of his laboratory. My mom was also hear along with both my brother and sister. Raymond was running around the room with a Pikachu that was in the house hot on his tail while Ashley was sitting beside my mom a Poliwag in her hand.
"Well, I am thinking, Sylveon, cause one it's a fairy type and two it learned Moonblast on evolution," I told Professor Oak as I rubbed under Princess's chin without having to bend down. The increase in height made this an easy task.
"Hmmm, a nice name and how did this evolution happen," asked Professor Oak.
"Well, it was just a theory of mine, I though that if it could evolve into five of the elemental types, maybe it could do the game for the sixth type, so I thought him dig and then…," I was interrupted by my sister.
"Aren't all the elemental Eevee evolutions done by stones?" asked my sister.
"Yes, but there is nothing like a ground stone, not that I know of atleast, so I thought maybe some familiarity with the element might help it evolve," I told her with a shrug.
The Sylveon evolution was a long time in the making and I had to construct a story with enough credibility to make it seem like it was just academic curiosity. I had taken this decision with mainly dragon types in mind. With the borders more open there was a lot more dragon type within the League and I needed to counter them and an Ice Type was not enough. So, Princess was a Sylveon.
I had already told her how I might help her evolve into a new form not seen before and had her learn two moves before this that she had to work very hard for.
"That lead to her how?" asked Professor Oak looking at Princess with wide eyes full of awe and curiosity. My mom had the same look but to a much lesser extent than Professor Oak. Raymond had also shown his awe before understanding Princess still did not have any desire to play with him and ran off to play with that Pikachu.
Ashley was much more level headed. She was surprisingly mature for her age and once her awe had worn off (surprisingly quickly since Professor Oak had still not picked his jaw off the floor), she had tried to document as much information as she could about Princess's evolution and basic data.
"It had not worked and we were disheartened for a while before shrugging it off and deciding that maybe we should try for the arcane types more and then I started teaching her double kick," I told them as Princess stretched like cat on the floor before jumping onto my lap.
She stretched across the couch placing her head on my lap and wrapping her feelers around one of my hands while the rest of her body tried to occupy as much of the couch as it could.
"Princess is not the first Eevee to learn dig or Double Kick, Ash. When they didn't make an Eevee evolve then why did you think it would work while you were trying," asked his mother.
"I just assumed you needed to get an Eevee to certain level of experience before it learns these moves to make them evolve. Neither technique is hard and an Eevee could learn them early. I only started to teach Princess these moves after my Gym Battle with Mr. White," I told the three of them.
"I am assuming you thought her Shadow Ball during that time too," said Professor Oak.
"Yeah, she picked that up when we were staying in Pallet itself and she was surprisingly quick about it. I thought that would be it, but not to be," I said with a shrug. Princess growled in her sleep when my hand moved but did not say anything else.
"Ray put down the Pikachu before it shocks you silly," said my mother sternly.
"But mom, he was being mean," said Ray with a slight whine as he held the Pikachu by it is scruff. He was not stupid enough to hold it by the tail. The Pikachu snickered but did not shock him.
"Drop him, Raymond," said my mom.
"Fine, but this is not over," said Ray looking the Pikachu in the eye. The electric type sparked its cheeks and put his tongue out as my brother walked away from him with a glare. I was holding my laugh back cause his glare was about as threatening as a Ratatta to a Charizard.
He sat down beside me on the couch slightly pushing Princess legs away. The fairy type hissed but I started scratching her behind her ear just the way she used to like it and she stopped and melted into my lap.
"Disarming Voice. I do not think I ever saw that move on it's move pool. How did you do it ?," asked Ashley .
"You will discover Ashley that the those move pools become more and more inaccurate as your Pokémon are exposed to more and more Pokémon types on a regular basis. Take Lance's Charizard for example. If you check a Charizard's move pool, you will see that it cannot learn outrage yet, Lance's Charizard can use that move. It is also the same with the fact that he can use Steel Beam. Given how much time that Charizard spends around dragons and a Duraludon and Steelix that is not a surprise," said Professor Oak.
"How?" asked Raymond which was surprising given he had the attention span of a Zigzagoon but battling and training were two things he always wanted to know more off especially since he had seen my mock battles.
"There are three factors involved. For the first the Pokémon should have a disposition for that type of energy or element if it wants to learn a move in that type. You cannot make a fire type learn a water type move or an ice type move. The second is that they must have had intense training with the moves of that type they already know. This allows the Pokémon to build up a reserve for that energy within it allowing them to use much more intense moves of the same type. The third is that he needs a tutor or a TM to learn the move because he cannot manipulate these energies at such large quantities instinctively like he can for his own type," said Professor Oak in a lecturing voice.
I absorbed what the Professor was saying like a sponge and compared it to what I knew and understood. I already knew the move pools were a bunch of bullshit but this only confirmed it. When I was trying to teach Inferno Sky Attack and Solar Beam, he did need a Tutor and a TM. Millenium was quite happy to be the task master for the week it took Inferno to maste Sky Attack. It took a little less time for him to learn Solar Beam but I was pretty sure that was because he could already do Sunny Day quiet well and manipulating solar energy was much easier.
Moves that went against their typing could be thought to the arcane types but not the elementals or the Morphs. It took some getting used to is all. Galahad and Skynet could both use Shadow Ball though it took them a while to learn to ignore some of the ill effects of the Chaotic energies of the Ghost Type and they needed a TM to learn the moves. After Shadow Ball, Shadow Claw was much easier. Given the fact that Galahad already knew magical leaf when I caught him learning Leaf Blade when he evolved was easy. X-Scissor was the move he had most problems with and Nightlash wasn't as much trouble given he learned two Ghost type moves.
After becoming proficient with Dragon Breathe, Jormun managed to learn Dragon Tail. When he managed Dragon Tail, he started on Dragon Pulse. It was not perfect but he was taking less time to learn it then Dragon Tail since he had a reserve for Dragon Type energy. He had also learned Crunch and now was proficient with Dark Pulse.
It was the same with Spark. He learned Crunch and that lead him to Nightlash which was not part of his move pool. I was pretty sure I could teach him dark pulse in a few weeks and if Jormun or someone else offers to coach him it might be even faster.
Sleepy also knew Outrage from a TM and it had been an exhausting and not mention very dangerous technique for him to learn. It was much easier to do now and he was able to ignore some of the side effects when the move is used. I only used that move if it was a last-ditch effort.
"So, wait, Inferno can learn Shadow Ball, given he knows Shadow Claw and probably Spook or Galahad teach him cause I read that Ghost type moves are not so easy to learn because you need the draw the energy from another dimension unlike psychic or fairy type moves that come from within," asked Ashley.
"It is possible. Someone is probably trying to do it now but Ghost Type is not really my speciality. I cannot answer that question to really satisfy you," said Professor Oak.
"There is also the fact that Ghost types tend to be very contradictory and difficult to understand," added my mother.
We sat in a few moments of silence before Raymond asked a question.
"What are we doing about Princess?" asked Raymond.
"What do you mean?" asked Ashley while I instinctively drew Princess a little closer. I would kill anyone who tries to take her away. The Fairy type opened her eyes at that as her feelers glowed pink. She gave me a loving look and cooed as one of the feelers unwound from my hand and rubbed around my face affectionately.
I scratched her on her head and she glowed slightly at that. My mom looked over and smiled as my brother clarified.
"I mean, she is a new species right do we report it to someone, there must a process to this right," asked Raymond.
"I will handle all that, given the fact your brother decided to train in Pallet and the around areas before the League is a godsend. It will allow me to study the new evolution and prepare a proper dex entry and everything. For the time being, I must call and report this in," said Professor Oak.
"That's it?" I asked surprised.
"Ash, you forget who you are talking to. I helped create this league," said Professor Oak with a smirk on his face.
"Yeah, that make sense," I said nodding my head.
Princess was finally up and decided to take a seat in between the both of us on the couch. Raymond tried to pet her but she slapped his hand away with her feelers. He tended to be a little rough and had dirty hands. Princess took good care of herself and I helped with that. She did not want to get dirtied.
She lifted on of her paws and licked at it and smoothed out some furs. Professor Oak watched the whole process in fascination.
"So, Professor Oak, did Gary or Daisy call?" I asked the man. Last I talked to them, Gary was still in Seafoam though he said he added a Sealeo to his team. Daisy was going to try one of the minor gyms after losing to Uncle Gio the fourth times in a row over the last month that I had been in Pallet Town.
I told her to maybe try again later in a month or two given that we still had three an half months to the League and the gyms would still remain open for three months.
"Yes, Gary called yesterday, said he was heading back to Vermillion. Daisy was doing the same," said Professor Oak.
"Doesn't she already have the Vermillion Gym Badge," said Ashley as the Poliwag who had enjoyed her attention ran over to Raymond and forced him into a game of tag by spraying him with a Water Gun.
I should consider adding a second Water Type to the team. A Poliwrath might not be bad idea. Kingdra is another option.
"She does, but the rock tunnel and digglet tunnel are around there. Maybe she wants to practice against some ground types for her rematch against Uncle Gio," said Ash.
"Or maybe she is doing a rerun of the Gyms and started with Vermillion cause it took her the longest to win that badge other then Viridian of course," added Ashley.
"It's neither of those things. They are both heading there because I told them too," said Professor Oak.
"Why?" I asked. Gary was planning on coming back to Pallet and then the both of us were planning on training together. Daisy hadn't clarified if she wanted to join or not but I assumed she would.
"Because I got all of three of you tickets to St. Anne," said Professor Oak with a huge grin on his face.
I immediately tensed while both my mother and sister exploded with questions about the ship. The St. Anne had been all anyone had been talking about for the last three months. The league had been heavily publicising the St. Anne and why would not they.
The St. Anne was going to mark the biggest event of this century. Not only was it a celebration marking the 50-year anniversary for the Pokémon League. But it also marked the joining of the last Ciper aligned regions into the League officially making the end of Team Cipher.
So, a little history lesson for you to understand just what I am talking about.
Most people in this iteration of Pokémon world would like to say that the Great War was started 60 years ago when Team Cipher decided to bomb Castelia City with Hyper Beams while they invaded and attacked Hoenn almost wiping out the Draconid Clan with normal weaponry and an army of Shadow ice types.
But this went hundred years back when a man named Victor Cipher came into power in Orre. The man had attacked, invaded, and occupied the Holon region, using the Island as a launching pad for his invasion up north conquering all those regions including Sinnoh and Ransei.
Then the invasion stopped when Cipher was killed by his own electric type Pokémon while he was training with him. It had put a stop in whatever future plans the man had for ten years. Ten years during which every region under Orre's control was rebelling against them.
You must be wondering how did any of the other regions allow this to happen.
Because they did not know.
Communication is extremely hard in the Pokémon world.
Each region had their own version of the folded space technology yet they did not have a single cell phone. Why you ask, because the Sky-High Dragon is a territorial. End of discussion
Any attempts to send satellites to the atmosphere would fail. Hell, planes were barely tolerated and even then, every plane flown always faced extreme turbulence. Flying on your Pokémon was the best option any of us had and they came with their own threats.
Within a region communication was better but between two regions was almost impossible.
Was, being the key word cause ever since Porygon was created and Rotom became a part of everyday life, communication had become much easier.
So, after the ten year brake, all revolutions and rebellions were crushed because suddenly there was a new player and a new power in Orre. Team Cipher and Shadow Pokémon.
Once the internal trouble was dealt with Team Cipher wished to see the wishes of Victor Cipher fulfilled, a world under the banner of Team Cipher.
Hence started the Great War, which ended when four young trainers Alder Adeku, Mustard Marwex, Charles Goodshow and Samuel Oak, at the ripe old age of fifteen had defeated the leader of Team Cipher (who was rumoured to have a shadow Lugia) and established the World Pokémon League or as I would like to call it the United Nations for the Pokémon world.
Each of them was named a Champion for the three regions that were part of the League while Charles Goodshow had become its chairman and to this day the man continues to sit in the same spot.
As years went by the other regions each joined the League for different reasons. Hoenn had joined first or as it is called in this world opened it's borders and the rest of them followed.
Sinnoh was the last to join two years ago and it marked the fact that all the past Cipher allied regions had come under the League Banner except for Ransei, but Ransei is weird with it's eighteen kingdoms and their warlords.
Come to think of it all those regions up north (that we know off) except for Sinnoh are weird in some way or another.
Anyway, St. Anne.
Anyone who has ever read any Ash Ketchum fanfiction knows what happens to the S.S. Anne. I was pretty sure the St. Anne was the same thing with a different name.
It was one the reasons I had almost no interest in getting on the ship and almost dying due to an attack by Team Rocket along with possible Mewtwo.
After seeing what Skynet could do with his moderate psychic powers I had no desire to see Mewtwo in action especially against me.
"What do you mean you are not going to be there?" asked my brother incredously.
"It means I won't be there, Raymond," said Professor Oak.
"Okay, what are we talking about again?" I asked the room and all of them just sighed instead of getting angry cause I was spacing out. See, I did that a lot.
"Professor Oak was just informing us that he will not be present for the St. Anne and the 50 years anniversary," said my sister and I just turned to man in surprise. It was almost unbelievable that the man will not be there.
I mean, it was Professor Samuel Oak. He created the fucking thing and it runs mostly on his ideals and suggestions. Though, given the fact that it does, maybe the man can do whatever the fuck he wants.
"Now, I didn't say that, I just said I wouldn't be present for the event on the St. Anne," said Professor Oak.
All of us were looking at man dumbly as he said that.
"The St. Anne cruise now has a different function then it did initially. Initially it supposed to dock in Sootopolis City and the dignitaries from Kanto, Johto and Hoenn were to travel from there to Castelia City for the anniversary and the other events organized in it's wake. Now, it sets sail from Sunny Shore City instead," said Professor Oak.
"And why is it doing so?" asked my mother.
"A power play in the most basic of saying. The Sinnoh region is trying to establish themselves as a proper power in the League. A tournament is being arranged on the cruise, where they intend to dominate the rest of the competitors and then rewards are being given to the winners. Expensive and powerful rewards to show off their wealth and resources," said Professor.
"And you think either Gary, Daisy or myself will win and put a foil in this plan," I asked
"Gods no. That would be impossible. I just think it would be a valuable learning experience for all three of you," said Professor Oak with a laugh.
"Professor, I think you are giving the three of them very little credit. Ash, Gary and Daisy have managed to claim gym badges from all the major gyms in Kanto or almost all of them in Daisy's case. That is unprecedented. Three of the Kanto Gym Leaders are former Elite Four Members and Sabrina is said to have lowest badge rate of the entire Pokémon League tied with Gurkin in Kalos and right above Whitney from Johto. In Kanto, only Trainers from the experienced class go against all the Major Gyms. Unless they throw league winners at them, they have a good chance of making an excellent showing and disrupting whatever plans Sinnoh has. If the draw is in their favour they might even win," said my sister her eyes shining with intelligence.
In that moment I wanted to go hug the girl and also cry given her confidence in me.
"All of that would be true Ashley if it wasn't for one minor fact, the Battle Frontier," said Professor Oak.
Her eyes widened in understanding.
"Of course, the former Champion Palmer was also a Frontier Brain. So, a lot of challengers must have gone through it. The Battle Frontier is an excruciating challenge especially in Sinnoh and winning against any of them would put you in the Warden tier at the minimum and if they didn't win a League…,"
"They would be an advanced at worst or an Experienced at best," I said with a shake of my head. Technicalities. I always hated them.
All trainers that are registered with the League have been divided into classes.
1. Beginner (before 3 gym badges)
2. Rookie (until your first League)
3. Advanced (Until three leagues)
4. Experienced(Until you win a league)
5. Warden (if you win more than three League)
6. Elite (If you defeat an Elite Four)
7. Champion
8. Master.
Most of it is self-explanatory.
Until you had three League certified gym badges you were considered a beginner trainer and had a handicap.
Until you participated in a Regional League you were considered a Rookie.
Three or more leagues you are in the Advanced class.
Every class from the Experinced to the Elite have a ranking system.
It was refreshed once every four years in one of the largest tournaments ever, which put the regional leagues to shame. The top four of every class are given a chance to take on the champion of their region along with the Elite Four and their eight elite trainers.
The next one was in two years.
League winners had a four year timeframe in which they can choose to challenge the Elite Four anytime but only once. If they defeat all of them and the Champion they are named champion of the region.
"So, why send them at all, if they have no chance of winning," asked my mother.
I looked around for Raymond and I saw him through the window playing with some of the Pokémon. Millenium and Sleepy were keeping an eye on him and I relaxed.
"As I said, it will be a good experience. A lot of trainers in the Advanced tier and the experienced tier are going to be there from a lot of places and it's invite only. It would be good practice for all three of them to face these challenges so that they can prepare and strategizes for the League. The only real difference between those guys and you three would be finesse but then again you have been closing the gap quickly," said Professor Oak with a smile.
I smiled back at the man. What he said was true. It would be a huge help to both see these trainers in action and pick up on some tricks.
"What did Gary and Daisy say?"
"Gary accepted immediately. Daisy is yet to answer," said Professor Oak.
I stayed silent for a few moments before answering.
"I'll do it,"
LINE BREAK
"When does the cruise start?" I asked Professor Oak as I looked on while my Pokémon engaged in mock duels and spars.
"The cruise arrives at Vermillion port on 15th August and reaches Castelia City on the 8thof October if everything goes according to schedule," said Professor Oak.
The main fight was between Princess and Thor and she was running circles around the electric type.
Today was July 23rd, so I had a total of 23 days before the Anne to prepare.
"Electabuzz," screamed Thor as a large bolt of electricity rushed towards Princess only for it to be negated by a protect. That was immediately followed by a dazzling gleam.
As it turned out, Princess was some sort of battling prodigy. In the last two hours, she had somehow after talking with Galahad, Skynet and to a lesser extent Spook had managed to learn the moves Dazzling Gleam, protect, psychic and Iron Tail. They were not perfect especially psychic and Iron Tail but they were usable.
"Can I get down in the middle and come to Castelia City after the tournament?" I asked Professor.
"Of course, you could get down at Sootoplis city. But I would ask you to come to Castelia City. Atleast to attend the Tag Battle Tournament and the Junior Cup. If nothing else, it might be a good experience and you would get to see a new region," said Professor Oak.
"Thank you Professor, for everything," I said to the man with a smile, which he returned.
Logically, I knew I couldn't win. It wasn't possible.
The trainers on St. Anne were stronger, better-trained, more experienced and had a longer time to strategize and bond with their Pokémon. Yet, I couldn't help but want to win.
I looked around at my Pokémon. Princess was running circles around Thor. Princess had come so far from the prideful little thing to this magnificent creature full of potential. Thor had lost all his arrogance and his overconfidence after being repeatedly beaten into the ground. He was now a much more collected Pokémon.
Gaea took on Tetrax. I had to literally fight tooth and nail to earn the Pseudo-Legendary's trust and the amount of loyalty Tetrax, Millenium, Galahad and Inferno showed was heart-warming and concerning.
Skynet was sparing with Spark. Skynet was the definition of trust issues. It was a long and arduous journey to reach where we were. Spark had placed a lot of trust in me after what Damien had done to him. I had to do everything in my strength to never loose that trust.
Sleepy took on Spook. They were the most detached of my team, yet they had followed most of my command's. It was a boost to my ego cause both the Genger line and the Munchlax line or known to be disobedient and difficult to control.
I came to a decision as I stood with my team. I was going to reward their hardwork and trust with winning atleast one of these tournaments.
This I promised and to do that, I had to fulfil a few more promises starting with Reaper and his evolution.
LINE BREAK
"You have two new messages, one from Gym Leader Surge and the second from Dr. Montgomery," said my Pokedex as I sat down on my bed in my room.
"Huh, I wonder what the man wants?" I thought to myself.
"Ketchum, I need you in Vermillion, ASAP. It's urgent. Be here as early as twelve noon and bring you're A-Game,"
Lt. Surge had been a great help in training Spark. The week we had spent in Vermillion had been some of the most productive days during my travel. I had captured Sleepy during that time. If the man needed help, I was going to do it.
"Ash come to the Lighthouse at your earliest convenience. We have some matters to discuss in regards to your Gyarados and a proposition in regards to your Electabuzz," said Bill's message.
Bill was also a super help in regards to smoothing out things regarding Jormun. I have been sending constant reports on how the Sea Serpent was doing and Jormun had spent a few days in the sea side right outside Bill's Lighthouse.
Besides, he might get a kick out of seeing Princess in action.
My A-Game huh, for Vermillion, I know just who to take.
"Mom, I am heading to Vermillion tomorrow,"
"How?" asked Raymond.
"Why?" asked Ashley
"When?" asked my mother.
"Inferno is going to take me. It's high time I used that saddle Mr. Sanders gifted me. Lt. Surge asked for help. I will start early in the morning,"
"I will pack you a bag," replied my mom while my siblings came rushing up to ask more questions (Ashley), or pester me if they could join (Raymond).
I was patient with both of them.